YOUtube, MEtube

Hands down, one of the biggest buzzmakers of 2006 in the internet/web scene was the rise in popularity, and subsequent MEGABUCK acquisition, of YOUtube. It’s that site with all those videos one can view. But, as shown by the TIME magazine article, it’s much more than that. About $1.65 billion more.

That’s how much it took Google to acquire YOUtube. Why so much? One word: advertising. With so many people viewing the site (termed as “hits”), marketers speculate, products advertised in YOUtube would be very popular, or at least very familiar, with potential buyers. Ultimately, advertising in YOUtube is said to lead to more sales. The TIME magazine article even went as far as stating that there is hard evidence that YOUtube has already done this (at least with the CBS shows). Given that the potential for advertising earnings would run into several billions, some say that Google actually got a bargain in the YOUtube deal. But of course, others also say that’s rather being too optimistic. Right now, I’m with the others.

In the first place, despite all the hype about “web 2.0” and the supposed stepping up of amateur videobloggers to fill up the gaps and voids that the professional entertainment industry has neglected, YOUtube, for me and a good number of people, is a place where I can find TV shows and films unavailable in the local market, whether that be by free TV, cable or optical media. The videos of some funny guy, cute gal or gothic underground rock band? Those are just icing on the cake. But the videos done by the pros are still the cake. At $1.65 billion, I think that’s some pretty expensive icing.

The typical scenario is that a bored dude logs onto YOUtube, stumbles upon a quirky video, wonders and hopes that his friends haven’t seen it first, then mass refers it to all of his friends (with whom he’s playing an “I saw it first, I’m cool!” game). The truth is those dudes never really think of “YOU”, it’s actually “ME”. More so with those videobloggers. Thus YOUtube should have been MEtube. In any case, after the referrals, that video is forgotten. The dude then goes to watch episodes of his favorite soap or series, which in all likelihood was uploaded by someone other than the show’s copyrights holder. There comes the problem. Hello, “Napster”?

True, YOUtube has so far avoided the hassles of litigation and that Google has supposedly set up a legal defense fund in the hundreds of millions. A good number of articles and write-ups also paint a very rosy picture for YOUtube. But I think that’s part of the problem, the picture’s just too rosy. Kind of reminds me of the SEGWAY marketing propaganda. I bet Google also set up a marketing fund in the hundreds of millions.

I suppose the entertainment industry is still negotiating with Google to find a win-win situation. Until then, everyone in the know is just wait-wait.